Im almost 50 but thats always been one of my favorites. Haha
Max bar length for a Stihl 064?
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Ya ever get the big pin oak down?
Not yet. I rented a towable 50 ft aerial lift a few weekends ago, while the ground was frozen, and took about half of the big limbs off. Basically everything under about 40' or so. That included most of the stuff that was hanging over the neighbors new fence. It was a lot of work for one person, but I'm glad its done. I learned how big of a limb it takes to drag a 1500 lb 4wd Kubota across the ground.... LOL I was tying limbs off to it and using it to lower them down (had a snatch block that I chained up in the tree). The last limb I took down was about 25" across back at the trunk. The tractor wasn't quite heavy enough to hold the the last 8' section of the limb up, but it was heavy enough to dramatically slow the limbs decent, and keep it against the trunk (as apposed to landing on the fence). Mission accomplished.
I picked up a 42" Oregon bar, and a full skip, full chisel 3/8 chain to match. Planning on making my notch about 2'deep. Bevel the top of the face cut at 60 deg, then the bottom at 30 deg. Main goal there is to allow my to get the saw farther into the notch when I do the boring cut. The limb that I had the snatch block chained to is about 30" across and about 50' up the tree. After doing the aerial work, I wrapped a 3/8 chain around that trunk, and secured it with a 5/16" quick link. Used a second quick like to attach a 2nd chain on the end which reaches down to about 6' off the ground. My plan is to put the truck (F350 crew cab diesel) in the back yard with my 13,000 lb winch in the receiver. I'll put one more chain on, and then take most of the slack out with the truck. The winch has 85' of synthetic cable, so that will put the truck well out of harms way. I'll have a couple of guys over to keep watch and run the winch for me while I'm cutting. I'm planning on level line around the tree so that I have a guide to follow. I'll use a rope, and spray paint over it. I'll have someone eye ball my plunge cut at the hinge to keep my bar level as I go in, then start working from the opposite side. If I can get another Saturday where the ground is frozen (probably not), I'll drop it this winter. If not, I'll drop it as soon as the ground is dry enough to get the truck into the back yard.
I picked up a 42" Oregon bar, and a full skip, full chisel 3/8 chain to match. Planning on making my notch about 2'deep. Bevel the top of the face cut at 60 deg, then the bottom at 30 deg. Main goal there is to allow my to get the saw farther into the notch when I do the boring cut. The limb that I had the snatch block chained to is about 30" across and about 50' up the tree. After doing the aerial work, I wrapped a 3/8 chain around that trunk, and secured it with a 5/16" quick link. Used a second quick like to attach a 2nd chain on the end which reaches down to about 6' off the ground. My plan is to put the truck (F350 crew cab diesel) in the back yard with my 13,000 lb winch in the receiver. I'll put one more chain on, and then take most of the slack out with the truck. The winch has 85' of synthetic cable, so that will put the truck well out of harms way. I'll have a couple of guys over to keep watch and run the winch for me while I'm cutting. I'm planning on level line around the tree so that I have a guide to follow. I'll use a rope, and spray paint over it. I'll have someone eye ball my plunge cut at the hinge to keep my bar level as I go in, then start working from the opposite side. If I can get another Saturday where the ground is frozen (probably not), I'll drop it this winter. If not, I'll drop it as soon as the ground is dry enough to get the truck into the back yard.
Well, it's going to hit 60 deg here today. The ground started to thaw yesterday morning. By the time I got home from church, the yard was so slimy that there was no way to move anything in the yard. I did a little bit of cleanup work by hand around the tree. I brought out a laser level and marked a horizontal line around the tree. I decided to cut it about a foot higher than I originally planned (about 3' off the ground). That will keep me out of the part of the trunk that fans out, and it's a comfortable height to work at. I brought out the 064 with the 28" bar and scored the line so I could see it better. I was feeling frisky, so I went ahead and made the face cut as well. I took my time and made it in 3 sections, taking each section out in multiple pieces so I could keep track of what I was doing. The good news is that, so far, the tree appears to be solid all the way through. The only parts that are iffy are around the outer edge, just under the bark which is probably what killed the tree. Once I got it started, I was able to get a better measurement on the tree. At this height, it's only 5' across so I'm changing my plan of attack a little bit. At this point, I'm actually confident that I could get the entire tree down with the 28" bar, but I'm not going to push my luck. I'm going to skip plunging in from the face cut to remove the center since I'll be able to easily reach past half way. I'll plunge cut the 6" hing on the non-egress side of the back cut with the 28" bar since it's already on the saw. I'll work my way about half way around on the back cut then put the 42" on. My thinking is that this will give me a nice, big slot put the bigger bar in, making it easier on me. I'll have plenty of the nose sticking out into the cut, so it should be easier to keep everything lined up well. Temps are supposed to drop back down below freezing on Thursday and stay that way through the weekend. I'm planning on having my dad come down and keep an eye on me while I'm cutting, and operate the winch/drive the truck. The truck will be out of reach of the tree, but it would be good to pull it forward and keep the chain and synthetic cable out of the way.
arborist
ArboristSite Operative
Be very careful, friend. Have that truck chocked too so you can't ever loose the whole works and have her dragged backwards on ya. That trunk goes over, she'll drag that truck a whole lot easier than a limb dragged that tractor. Probably well chocked or not. Might want to keep the trucks front end tied off and keep up the slack too if you have something immovable to hook her up to. Remember, you can't take things too slow and you can't be too safe. There's no such thing as extra safety measures.
Last but not least, be sure you and dad abort and let her go, if things go sideways. Lose a fence, trunk, truck, saw and the whole works means nothing at all compared to you and dad. Keep your escape plans and put material things last. Those are all replaceable.
Wow your confidence has done a full 180 after putting in a ton of work on that tree, Awesome!! Anything over 20" I prefer to use wedges and for me at least feel safer using them esp on giants, heck I think its the best when you can stop the saw and take it to a safe zone then finish by driving the wedges in. I find stopping the saw to look at my face/felling cuts really improves the end result accuracy. On a tree that big I might wrap a rope around it where i want the hinge cut and hit it with spray paint on the rope leaving two lines on the tree with a gap between as my felling cut mark. Take pictures if you hang tractors/trucks/ skids/bobcats in a tree like christmas ornaments.
Most of what I fell is 18" to 24". I've taken down a few large silver maples, but those trunks aren't very tall. This is, by far, the biggest thing I've ever had to deal with. I will definitely use wedges. If, for nothing else, they will help keep the tree from going over backwards. I'm hesitant to work the wedges very hard because the tree has a few large dead limbs in the very top. They were too high to reach with the aerial lift. They have been dead for a few years, and I'm not sure how stable they are. I'll have my helmet on, but limbs that big from that far up don't really care about a helmet. That's my main reason for having my dad come down. I want him to keep an eye on thos limbs and give me a yank if one of them starts to break up.
That's a really good point about the truck. If the tree took a wrong turn, it will yank that truck around like a rag doll. I'll use a short length of 1/4" chain between the 5/16 and the Winch. It won't be strong enough to drag the truck. I'd rather break the chain than drag the truck 70' through the yard at speed... No amount of property is worth personal injury.
Between the truck, wedges, and the fact that the wind will be in my favor tomorrow, getting the tree on the ground should be pretty straight forward. Getting trunk milled down small enough to Winch onto the trailer will be the bulk of the work.
Here are a few pics I snapped yesterday. In the first pic, if you zoom in, you can see the 5/16" chain hanging off the side of the tree. The hook is about 6' off the ground. If you follow it up, you'll see a silver quick link on the other end. That chain is 20' long. The last pic is from June, when the tree wasnt quite dead yet.. By September, only one small limb still had any green leaves remaining.. I took the front off of the bottom cut because I'm hoping it will help launch the tree a few feet forward after the hinge breaks. That will make it a lot easier to work on the trunk. I'll drag a couple of logs around for the tree to land on and keep it off the ground (ie keep my bar out of the dirt).
That's a really good point about the truck. If the tree took a wrong turn, it will yank that truck around like a rag doll. I'll use a short length of 1/4" chain between the 5/16 and the Winch. It won't be strong enough to drag the truck. I'd rather break the chain than drag the truck 70' through the yard at speed... No amount of property is worth personal injury.
Between the truck, wedges, and the fact that the wind will be in my favor tomorrow, getting the tree on the ground should be pretty straight forward. Getting trunk milled down small enough to Winch onto the trailer will be the bulk of the work.
Here are a few pics I snapped yesterday. In the first pic, if you zoom in, you can see the 5/16" chain hanging off the side of the tree. The hook is about 6' off the ground. If you follow it up, you'll see a silver quick link on the other end. That chain is 20' long. The last pic is from June, when the tree wasnt quite dead yet.. By September, only one small limb still had any green leaves remaining.. I took the front off of the bottom cut because I'm hoping it will help launch the tree a few feet forward after the hinge breaks. That will make it a lot easier to work on the trunk. I'll drag a couple of logs around for the tree to land on and keep it off the ground (ie keep my bar out of the dirt).
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arborist
ArboristSite Operative
Oh man, too bad you couldn't hire an aborist to cut those two limbs off going back towards the shed. You'd have it made with those off. It would just want to fall right out on the lawn for ya without those.
Yeah, I personally wouldn't attempt to pull her over with those two leads up there, but it's probably "possible", I just wouldn't do it. That's easy for me to say though, cus I could just take the fence down, go up there and just drop 'em within a half hour and bobs your uncle. Not everyone's a trained a monkey. I see your risk but with enough pull, you "probably" only stand to risk the fence. Without seeing it from the other direction, looks like from this side, if you lose her, you'll lose her down the garden end.
If it's pretty straight and evenly balanced the other direction, then favor cutting through the side towards the garden and leave some meat toward the tree line during your back cut. Don't go extreme, but while making your back cut, be sure to cut off the side towards the garden just a bit more than you cut through the tree line side. That way, you'll help steer her more towards the trees a touch and it will help her come down without taking out the fence.
If there's a lean or an equal imbalance towards the garden though, then try and pull her up towards the trees best you can and be much more aggressive of cutting more off during your back cut towards the garden first. Pull and hang her towards the trees all you can, if that's the case, then hopefully she'll land somewhere straight out on the lawn, directly away from the fence.
Yeah, I personally wouldn't attempt to pull her over with those two leads up there, but it's probably "possible", I just wouldn't do it. That's easy for me to say though, cus I could just take the fence down, go up there and just drop 'em within a half hour and bobs your uncle. Not everyone's a trained a monkey. I see your risk but with enough pull, you "probably" only stand to risk the fence. Without seeing it from the other direction, looks like from this side, if you lose her, you'll lose her down the garden end.
If it's pretty straight and evenly balanced the other direction, then favor cutting through the side towards the garden and leave some meat toward the tree line during your back cut. Don't go extreme, but while making your back cut, be sure to cut off the side towards the garden just a bit more than you cut through the tree line side. That way, you'll help steer her more towards the trees a touch and it will help her come down without taking out the fence.
If there's a lean or an equal imbalance towards the garden though, then try and pull her up towards the trees best you can and be much more aggressive of cutting more off during your back cut towards the garden first. Pull and hang her towards the trees all you can, if that's the case, then hopefully she'll land somewhere straight out on the lawn, directly away from the fence.
Where are the wedges? Am I missing them? Always have wedges even just tapped in to prevent the tree setting on the bar. If I don't have 3 wedges on me i don't even start my saw
Bit hard to bang wedges into a cut that has not been made yet.
That is just a pencil line back cut, drawn with the tip of the bar to act as a guide line- see the hinge marked out also as stop points.
Going off photo 4, I would be fairly confident cutting your marked out lines and falling it as you intend.
I might fan cut the centre of the hinge from the wedge, bore the back cut from both sides and leave a trigger at the back until the back cut was completed- allows you to start wedges before it can sit back- but that all depends on the butt diameter and the bar length.
Large dead limbs up top...... got to love those widow makers!
arborist
ArboristSite Operative
Wedges wouldn't do it for this one. This one needs to be pulled and pulled hard with a rope 3/4 up the tree and hooked to a truck (4wd in low range), outside the drop zone. This ones, pull a lot, cut a little, tap the rope to ensure she's not losing anything, pull with the truck again if she is, cut a little, tap the rope, cut a little, tap the rope, pull, cut, tap, pull, tap, pull, cut a little more and stay alert. Wedges are ok, but they're not going to do a whole lot compared to the rope and truck. There wont be any risk of the bar binding. If there is, then you're not pulling anywhere near what you need to be pulling on this one. 
My apologies Bob, it's hard to tell how deep the cut is/was
I use a 12k winch and steel cable on my problem trees.
Can you jack the tree?
No need for apology, could fool anyone- I had to look twice.
I only guessed because I have done the exact same thing- usually if you see me do it- it is because the tree has me second guessing myself, similar situation to that of the OP. Tree lean, proximity to property that can be damaged, inadequate saw- or bar......
It is a form of five + five, five steps back and think about it for five minutes. If you map out your cuts before you make them, it can point out obvious errors in your plan, or confirm them before any real risk is taken.
Like firing a gun, once the hammer falls, you can't call back the bullet. Same with a tree, when it starts going over......
I was like them some skills how's that tree balancing like that? Then I was wondering where the on the ground pic..No need for apology, could fool anyone- I had to look twice.
I only guessed because I have done the exact same thing- usually if you see me do it- it is because the tree has me second guessing myself, similar situation to that of the OP. Tree lean, proximity to property that can be damaged, inadequate saw- or bar......
It is a form of five + five, five steps back and think about it for five minutes. If you map out your cuts before you make them, it can point out obvious errors in your plan, or confirm them before any real risk is taken.
Like firing a gun, once the hammer falls, you can't call back the bullet. Same with a tree, when it starts going over......
I've used a 12k winch tied to another tree or stump and pulled some monster popple trees over. Not pulling crazy lean but pulling some. 
Well, she's down. Everything went as planned. I did stick a few wedges in the back to keep it from setting back on the bar. Those loosened up pretty quick so I knew I was in good shape. Just kept them tapped in as I went. Ended up getting a little over aggressive with th back cut at the end. Sight line looked good on the saw, but the nose got into the middle of the hinge more than I was planning. I also let the nose of the long bar drop down while I was cutting, but alls well that ends well I suppose.
